James Mayer, 20, was shot by a Lubbock police officer Monday after police said he fired a gun from his vehicle, refused officers’ commands and later stepped out of the car holding a firearm. He was taken to a hospital with serious injuries and later died.
The incident began around 9:43 a.m. when Lubbock police received reports of a man firing a gun near the Canyon Lakes area. According to Police Chief Seth Herman, 911 callers also reported seeing the man displaying a gun while driving through the area.
Officers later spotted a passenger car driven by Mayer traveling north on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near 19th Street. Police were already trying to contact him because of a felony warrant. Herman said Mayer refused to cooperate and would not show his hands.
The situation quickly turned into a chase. Police said Mayer pointed a gun out of the vehicle window and fired one shot before driving away. He stopped again near East Broadway and MLK Boulevard, then took off once more, eventually heading east on Parkway Drive.
Officers tried to stop the vehicle using a police cruiser, but the first attempt did not work. Mayer continued driving until he entered the parking lot of a store on Parkway Drive, just east of MLK Boulevard. Police were able to force the vehicle to stop there.
According to Herman, Mayer then got out of the vehicle carrying the firearm. An officer opened fire because police said the weapon forced the officer to use deadly force. Officers immediately began life-saving measures before emergency medical crews arrived.
Mayer was taken to UMC with serious injuries. He later died at the hospital. The officer who shot him was not injured, according to police.
A handgun that did not belong to the officer was recovered at the scene. The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave, which Lubbock police said is standard department policy. Police said the officer has served with the department for eight years.
The shooting remains under investigation. For Mayer’s family and those who knew him, the incident now carries the weight of a life that ended at just 20 years old. What began with a 911 call about gunfire near Canyon Lakes ended hours later with a young man dead and a police shooting under review.
The incident happened in Lubbock, Texas.
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